Untried Creme + Glitter + Jelly

Last day of the month and last untried creme! I never thought I had a glitter addiction until trying not to use it... just kidding. I've always known about my glitter addiction.

First up is the creme: China Glaze Dance Baby, which my buddy Jamie sent me. This applied perfectly and was so shiny on its own! I love pinks and this won me over immediately.

Then I added Studio M Poparazzi, which was kinda chunky and a little hard to manage but whatever:

And finally, OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! on top to make it a yummy jelly sandwich <3

Here's to March - the theme for our untrieds is "rainbow". You'll have to wait and see what that means! Go see what Amanda and Sarah are wrapping up the month with.

xoxo,
Amanda

Stop! It's a Trap(eze)!

Happy hump day! It feels so weird for me because the last few weeks I've had Mondays off for snow, sickness, or holidays... so Wednesday feels like Tuesday! Anyway, we're nearing the end of February, hope you get all your comments in before March 2nd because I'm drawing a winner sometime that day! I'm going to do this again next month but I have to round up some prizes first :)

Today's post is China Glaze It's a Trap-eze. At first, I was really overwhelmed with the amount of glitter in the bottle and I didn't like it much. I thought it'd be hard to work with and lumpy and too much going on to really be pretty, but, happily, I was wrong! My glitter-lovin' heart loved this! This is about three coats, I believe... but my notes are basically that I was just really excited about this so they're no help. No top coat in this photo but I'm sure it would help with any texture issues, although all the glitters sat flat on the nail.

What a glitter beauty! Do you own this one? I'm glad I didn't sell my bottle before trying it because I'm sort of in love!

xoxo,
Amanda

China Glaze Mimosas Before Manis

Hey everyone, almost done with February untrieds and today I didn't even cheat! I have one of the new Avant Garden China Glazes today, Mimosas Before Manis (which on my label is Mimosa's Before Mani's and ughhhhh). This is pinker than my photo but I honestly couldn't capture this accurately and was really enraged by it and decided to move on. However, I do love this color and will wear it again. This is three coats and it was easy peasy.

Go check out Amanda and Sarah!

xoxo,
Amanda

Inspired by... Instagram!

Oh hey look who's on time for a challenge! ;) Today's nails I saw on Girly Bits' Instagram months ago and saved the picture to my phone (I do this a lot with the high hopes someday I'll actually try them out). Mine pales in comparison to hers, partially because her nail length really allowed this design to work and mine were a bit to short but anyway, the photo is here. Also, my color choices... gosh, there's so much wrong with this I am effectively labeling this a FAIL.

The base os Color Club Bintage Couture and the dots are Orly Butterflies, China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On, and Sation Lollipop! Goes the Princess. The photo shows them more yellow/orange than IRL, imagine this with a more pink hue.

Aaaaand now you guys know why I never try nail art anything.

xoxo,
Amanda

I'm Late, I'm Late, I'm Late for.. Inspired by...

A tutorial? I think this counts for mine and Amanda's Monday "inspired by" series except it's clearly not Monday and actually I found this on Facebook. I have had a really good excuse for being late because last Monday, Blogger was uploading all my photos as black boxes and not the actual photos... but then the rest of the week I was just lazy and whenever I had time to blog, my notepad wasn't with me to tell you what polishes I used. Anyway, you'll get a couple posts today and starting fresh tomorrow!

This was a tutorial from Nailed It and it was exceptionally easy to do but I still fudged it up. Regardless, it was adorable but don't examine the dots too closely (except on my pointer finger because those came out pretty perfect). In retrospect, I would have used a smaller dotting tools for the outermost dots but meh, you live and you learn.

The base color here is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls (thank you Amanda, what a perfect white!) and the dots are: Sation You're My Lacquer Charm (coral-pink), China Glaze Tart-y for the Party (light purple, bottle in my hand), and China Glaze Aquadelic (blue). I loved this look! Really easy and it looked complex so all my non-blogger friends would probably love it and how much time it took, etc. etc. etc. They don't have to know the truth. ;)

xoxo,
Amanda

Untrieds & Sparkle Nail Lacquer Review

Happy Valentine's Day! Umm... so... you may have noticed from my preview picture that this is a glitter. But you'd be wrong! I have an untried creme/neon as a base and it's China Glaze Pink Plumeria but I may have gotten a little excited and forgot to photograph that part... so... uh... put your imagination goggles on my friends, and block out the glitter. Then go over to Sarah and Amanda and see what people who can stick to challenge rules come up with ;)

Just kidding. YOU CAN'T BLOCK THIS GLITTER OUT. It's sparkletastic and gorgeous. But let me get back to that... Sparkle Nail Lacquer was kind enough to work out a deal with me and I picked out some stuff to review! Of course I chose Glitter Bomb, and none of you are surprised. Glitter Bomb is exactly what it sounds: all types of glitter in a clear base. I can see moons, butterflies, stars, and hearts on my nails and I didn't have to fish whatsoever. It was absolutely loaded with glitter and very easy to apply, although a couple of the larger glitters curled (see the big square on my pointer finger). I didn't notice any others curled in the bottle so it might have just been this one type. Either way, I was satisfied!

I also wanted to try her quick dry top coat, which is something I've been in the market for ever since my Wicked Fast dried up. I can report this top coat was awesome! Below is one coat and it could have used two, but this was a pretty dense glitter so I'm not surprised. It did dry super fast and it's now my current go-to top coat!

Alright, so now that you've seen all you need to see, head on over to Sparkle Nail Lacquer. By the way, this week they're having 14% off with VALENTINE14 so you can save on your glitter fix! Just a tip :) Happy day of love and remember that I love you!

xoxo,
Amanda

Inspired by... Pinterest!

Hello everyone, happy Monday! Today is my second Pinterest inspired mani with Amanda. On my Butter London Molly Coddled post, I alluded to the fact that there'd be another post with that color, so Molly Coddled is my base color for a mani inspired by this post by Dori Davis (which is a new-to-me blog but I'm obsessed with it now):

Dori used tape to create the hearts but I'm a rebel (Dottie? anyone catch that reference?!) and decided to freehand it (which should indicate to you why last week's Pinterest mani involved using heart glitter rather than my mad freehand skillz). Also, since it's "Inspired by Pinterest" and not necessarily "Copy Pinterest", I decided to only do hearts on my middle two fingers and used Candy Lacquer Love-ly Lavender on my pinky and pointer. The gray crackle is the one from China Glaze but I know you guys don't really care about that so I'm going to channel my inner lazy and not look up the actual name.

What do you think? I was amazed how perfectly my middle finger's heart cracked and even mentioned it on twitter haha! I think this is a good, muted way to show a Valentine's mani that isn't all red and pink and hearts. (Though there's nothing wrong with that in my book!)

xoxo,
Amanda

I Made It In Time for Thursday!

Hey everyone - quickie post since I should have had this up this morning but I've been so busy at work this week that I haven't wanted to come home and type up anything. I must keep to my challenge with Amanda to try our untrieds! Confession time: even though I was the one who suggested we try our untrieds from brands we only had one untried from, I have literally none left! I really should have thought this through...

Anyway, for today's swatch, I have China Glaze Hanging in the Balance from the recent Cirque du Soleil collection. I absolutely ADORE the cremes from this collection and actually, the entire collection was really gorgeous. The cremes had a tricky formula for some people but I really liked them. This was one coat because I knew I was adding glitter on top...

And I added Lynnderella The Stars in Her Eyes which has... BABY STAR GLITTER. I don't even... I can't explain how much I love that tiny star glitter. It's so adorable I can't explain. Behold. Click to enlarge this picture so you can see the tiny stars and how cute they are!

So there you have it, happy Thursday!

xoxo,
Amanda

Kitchen Sink Saturday... On The Go Edition!

Hi everyone, I am so so so so so behind on blogging I don't even have words but I just did this mani about 30 minutes ago so it's hot off the presses anddddd here you go for Kitchen Sink Saturday! Also go see Nicole, Wes, and Inky's blogs!

Pointer: Cosmetic Arts unnamed light pink with China Glaze Broken Hearted (crackle)
Middle: Nfu Oh 64
Ring: Cosmetic Arts again with F4 Polish Shellie
Pinky: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy with Cosmetic Arts dots :)

xoxo,
Amanda

November Untrieds Part 8

Hey everyone - last of November's China Glaze untrieds! I'm glad to have worked through my China Glaze untrieds (well, most of them) - I highly recommend joining us if you have any untrieds you want to go through because this was really successful in helping me try a bunch of them.

Anyway, to ease our transition into December (and because I have a million holiday polishes...) I decided on a very Christmas color for today: Mrs. Claus. Mrs. Claus is a pinky-red base with red glitter and is a very perfect girly Christmas polish, IMO. This was two coats and application was easy breezy (beautiful, Cover Girl?).

So that's the end - bye bye, China Glaze; hello, glitters! Now go see what Madeline has in store :)

xoxo,
Amanda

November Untrieds Part 7

Hey, happy Tuesday! Madeline and I are almost done with this challenge and I'm already preparing for December: glitter. I have about 784731897487198 indie glitters that can use my attention so next month's challenge is perfect! Let me know if you'd like to join, Amanda already signed on!

Today I have Ray-diant for you which is from one of their recent collections that I actually totally ignored. I ended up getting this in a random grab bag and I kind of fell in love instantly - I can see this being a really great accent nail that would match a lot of other polishes.

I wish I could tell you what color this is but I honestly don't even know. It's primarily silver but there's a bunch of other glitters sparsely thrown in so just look at the enlarged version and see for yourself - it's quite lovely :)

xoxo,
Amanda

Lazy 15: Disney

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a good week. I'm out of work early today so I'm pretty excited for that, as well as a long weekend!

Today's challenge is Disney movies and characters. I'm really not much of a Disney person so this was a bit challenging for me because I just wasn't very inspired. I decided to start with a color and see where I went with it and China Glaze With Love from the recent holiday collection was my choice. Instantly I thought: Minnie! So that's what we have today.

From left to right I have Minnie's bow (yes, I know, the colors are reversed), little Disney mice, Minnie's polka dots, and more mice. This was obviously super easy nail art but I'm still fairly proud. Nobody would probably know my inspiration if I didn't tell them but that's okay. Check out what my fellow challengers came up with!




xoxo,
Amanda

November Untrieds Part 6

Hey hey hey! I'm running out of greetings to start my posts with lol! Accepting suggestions ;)

Today Madeline and I are back with some more China Glaze untrieds! I'm happy to say I think my China Glaze drawer in my Helmer will be 100% used by the end of the month... though I have some from the Cirque du Soleil collection I'm not counting ;) By the way, December's untrieds isn't a brand, but a type: glitter. So if you'd like in on it, let me know and we can include you too!

Dorothy Who? is the polish for today. This is Ruby Pumps' blue sister. It's a light blue base with darker blue glitter in it and it's beautiful. The formula is a little thin and hard to work with, so excuse the bald spots and uneven application in some places. This is two coats, no top coat.

I'm not usually a blue person, but I liked this one. I don't know when I'll wear it, though, because I rarely find a reason to wear blues and constantly wear pinks and purples *sigh*

xoxo,
Amanda

Breaking Dawn Nails!

Hey ladies and gents! I have a twinsie post today with Ryan for Twilight's final installment coming out. (PS Rycobra is formerly Naild In The South, so if you haven't found her new blog name go follow now!) Ryan already posted hers for the premiere on Thursday but I was working and had a concert I wanted to do my nails for, so my nails were done this evening and are on right now, which is rare for me! I'm thinking I'll probably go see it the first time (yes, I'll go multiple times) this morning, which hopefully won't be too hectic!

I actually only have one photograph of this because I felt like it did well demonstrating it on its own and you didn't need 15 pictures to get the gist ;) On my thumb, pointer, and pinky I applied China Glaze Elephant Walk and then Candy Lacquer Chick Flick (fitting, huh?) on top. Then on my middle and ring I used OPI Strawberry Margarita and RLR Creations water decals on top.

I wanted this to be Twilight but not the typical vampire fare, so I went with pink and gray for a toned-down version of the usual red and black, and I really liked the outcome. The decals were pretty easy to work with but they took some patience and I was a bit bummed the white didn't show on the chess piece in front, but I think the point comes across. Hope you liked these, Twihards ;)

xoxo,
Amanda

November Untrieds Part 5

Hello! Almost the end of the week yayyyy! I'm actually off work tomorrow because tonight I'm seeing Bassnectar with my boyfriend. When we started dating, I took an interest in his musical tastes, of course, and Bassnectar is probably my favorite of all his music he introduced me to - so I'm pretty excited! I'm DEFINITELY excited for having tomorrow off. I used to have all Fridays off work but had to work them to make more money, so having one off now feels like a real treat!

ANYWAAAYYYYY... today's pictures are awful. Maybe my battery was dying or maybe I was lazy or maybe my life malfunctioned? I don't know. But it's not the best photography ever so forgive me. I needed to do my next day of mine and Madeline's challenge and apparently I overlooked that my photos SUCK. ... uh. Ahem. Moving on.

China Glaze Jungle Queen was actually an accidental purchase for me. I found it on clearance at Sally's and thought it was Elephant Walk... which, of course, it wasn't. So I grinned (grun?) and beared (bore?) it and tried it anyway. I don't love it, don't hate it. It's a dusty purple with shimmer (ughhhh I hate shimmer) but it looks gray in some lights. This was two coats and it applied well.

Then I added a coat of JENsations Follow Your Heart. This is black and white matte glitters (including hearts, eeeee!) in a clear base. If you're running to Jen's shop now to buy it, you're going to be disappointed - because this was a custom one made for me! However, everything used was a combination of glitters from her other polishes, so if you're lemming it you could probably request "Follow Your Heart" or just do what I did and tell her you want a custom polish with all the matte black and white glitters she has except bar glitter. :)

Here's a bottle shot of Follow Your Heart. I absolutely LOVE this polish. Jen did a great job (by the way, custom polishes by Jen are $9.20 - the .20 is to cover a listing fee - and she's so quick and dynamic! I definitely recommend her custom polishes!)

There you are... sorry this post was 90% NOT China Glaze, oops!

xoxo,
Amanda

November Untrieds Part 4: Tuesday Two-fer

Hello again! If you're reading this, we made it through Monday, woohoo! A few people I know had the holiday off in the US yesterday so this might be the first day of your week. If so, I'm VERY jealous ;)

I'm back with another day of China Glaze untrieds! Today I have two of them, actually, because one was a glitter top-coat. Away we go!

First is Pink Plumeria, from their recent summer collection. I got this from my Secret August Santa, I believe and am ashamed to say it took me this long to wear this beauty! This was two coats, really easy application. The color is more pink than it shows in this picture.

Then, I added Make a Spectacle which was part of one of their recent collections, though the name of it fails me right now. This is iridescent glitter similar to Snow Globe, though not the same. Snow Globe has more rainbow iridescence whereas this mostly shows as yellow, green, and blue. Both are pretty (and I'll keep both!) but Snow Globe is my favorite of the two.

Application was easy-peasy. Brush it on and go. This is 1 coat.

Plus a bottle shot to show you the pretty!

Ta daaaa! Now go see what Madeline has in store today for her untrieds!

xoxo,
Amanda

November Untrieds Part 3

Hey everyone, hope your week is going well. More than half over, so that's good!

Another installment of mine and Madeline's China Glaze November Untrieds Challenge (we have no official name, so this works, right?)

I actually have two polishes today. I used Glitter All The Way from this year's holiday collection on my pointer and ring fingers and Twinkle Lights from last year's on the middle and pinky. GATW only needed two coats, it was really dense and really easy to work with for a fine glitter. Twinkle Lights was a bit thinner, shown is three coats. This was opaque in person but pictures always show the nail if it's at all possible.

Close up (ignore the yellow splotch on my ring finger, it's a stain from yesterday's dots!) so you can see all the pretty colors. Twinkle Lights is very definitely Christmas, whereas GATW is very Mardi Gras... although, from far away it just looks like a color party and it's hard to tell it's Mardi Gras colors (which is a good thing, because I normally hate Mardi Gras themed polishes since they involve gold 99% of the time).

GATW is a must-have in my book. Twinkle Lights... meh. Not crazy about it since it's predominantly gold. I feel like I should probably hold on to it but I've been fickle lately so I'll probably swap or sell it.

xoxo,
Amanda

Pink Wednesday & Lazy 15: Dots

Hello everyone. Not feeling so chatty... quite a few things have me a bit upset lately but not getting into that here. Just understand my posts might be a bit quiet for a little while.

I'm back with another day of the Lazy 15 challenge and today's challenge is dots.

I started off with China Glaze Sexy Lady (one of my untrieds, I should get extra credit for mine and Madeline's November Untried Challenge, too) which was two coats of pink perfection (AND it's a pink... on a Wednesday!). Also, yes. My nails are complete nubbins right now and no, I don't want to talk about it.

Then, I got creative and made a "subliminal" message in my dots. I used my neon orange and yellow Migi pens and there's a little message in there in my dots!

I wasn't too impressed with myself because moments after making my dots, I managed to smudge a couple nails on a stray hair that miraculously dove off my head into my manicure. (You might also see my middle finger dots are no where near straight lines but... when you see what the shape on that nail was subliminally, you'll understand why I was struggling. Also, it was late.) I added some matte top coat which did anything but disguise the mistakes...

If you want to see the "subliminal" message (I admit, it's tricky to see...) check below the cut, after the pictures of all my fellow challengers manis!

xoxo,
Amanda

November Untrieds Part 2

Hey my peeps ;) Can you believe I got myself involved in two challenges for November? Oopsies! Well, today I'm back with mine and Madeline's China Glaze untrieds challenge. I warned you there'd be a lot of holiday polishes in the mix (Madeline said a lot of hers are holiday ones, too) so here's the first of many haha!

Today I have Mistletoe Kisses, which I'm shocked to find out is from their 2010 holiday collection. I had no idea I'd been holding on to this so long! This is green glitter in a light green base and it builds really nicely. This is two coats and it was really easy to work with for a glitter polish. I didn't really have to worry about glitter ending up everywhere and the base was the perfect consistency to work with. No top coat for these pictures.

So I like it, I don't love it. I'm not a huge green person anyway but this is perfect for the holidays. It reminds me of a fake Christmas tree, for some reason, so I can imagine myself wearing this during that time. Then again, there's a whole new crop of holiday polishes coming out so I think I'll end up wearing those instead ;)

That's all from me, go check out Madeline's post for today and... Happy Holidays?

xoxo,
Amanda

November Untrieds Part 1

Hi everyone! Madeline and I have decided to do a monthly untrieds sweep by brands... each month, we'll pick a brand and on Tuesdays and Thursdays we'll show you guys some of our untrieds. A way to get through all our untrieds, try some polishes we haven't yet, and challenge ourselves! So here we go, November is China Glaze!

I decided to try Ruby Pumps... I know, I know. I can see people shaking their heads and unfollowing my blog now: how did I not try Ruby Pumps?! I don't know. I'm not a red person? You guys are lucky it's even in my stash ;) Anyway, here's two coats on its own, no top coat. The formula was really good, especially for a glittery polish! 

There's day one! What do you think? Shockingly, a good amount of my China Glaze untrieds are from their holiday collections, so expect to see more reds and greens in your near future. Now head on over to Madeline's blog to see what she's showing you from China Glaze!

xoxo,
Amanda